City Council Approves TIF, Land Swap, For Education and Neighborhood Development

May 9, 2012

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A downtown high school and a future school on the Northwest Side will be supported through an inter-governmental agreement approved today by City Council.

As part of the four-part plan, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will receive Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance and land in exchange for two former school properties that will be transferred to the City for future community development purposes.

“By working cooperatively toward our mutual goals, Chicago Public Schools and the City of Chicago can ensure our neighborhoods meet the needs of students, families, and other community stakeholders,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.

According to the agreement:

  • CPS will receive $115 million in TIF for the new Jones College Preparatory High School at 700 S. State St. The facility, already under construction, is replacing the current Jones school immediately north of the site. In accommodating 1,200 students from across the city, the seven-story, 278,000-square-foot building will include larger classrooms, a gymnasium, swimming pool and library. The $120 million project is being designed and managed by the Public Building Commission.
  • CPS will receive 19 acres of vacant, City-owned property on the northeast corner of Irving Park Road and Oak Park Avenue for the future development of a school on the site. The property is part of the former Read-Dunning hospital campus acquired from the state in 2007.
  • The City will acquire the former Near North High School site at 1450 N. Larrabee St. on the Near North Side. No longer needed by CPS, the 11-acre property will be used to assist the ongoing redevelopment of the Cabrini Green public housing complex.
  • The City will acquire 11 acres of vacant CPS land on the southwest corner of 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue in South Lawndale. Site of the former Washburne Trade School, the property will be used for future community development purposes.

 

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